12/18/2011 07:53:00 pm -
Reported by
Chuck Foster

Matt Smith talks about an incident with the police: "I was running for a train, on my way to film in Bristol, when I was stopped by anti-terrorist police for a routine check. I ended up missing my train and being late for my call. I must have been looking particularly dodgy." And on his best present at Christmas? "A snooker table - although my SEGA Mega Drive comes close. I also used to love getting pyjamas and wearing them all day."[Standard, 16 Dec 2011]

Praise was also heaped upon the actor by Daventry's MP, Chris Heaton-Harris, who having seen the Christmas Special at the press preview, said: "I’m very much a Doctor Who geek, so I loved it. It was a perfect show for Christmas Day and I’ll look forward to watching it again then. It was also nice to hear Matt speaking about the show, he came across as a really nice, pleasant guy with a lovely sense of humour. I think he’s a great representative of Northamptonshire."[Northamptonshire Chronicle, 18 Dec 2011]

Jane Espenson (writer) talks about the differences in the creative process in writing for Torchwood and Once Upon A Time: "Torchwood was a very different process from everything else, since it functioned as a sort of hybrid version of the UK system – less room time, more one-on-one with the showrunner. Once is more similar to Buffy – we work in a writers' room figuring out the story, and then we take turns writing complete drafts that are then polished by Eddy and Adam. And, also like Buffy, we're being allowed to make the show that the guys envisioned. It's a very smooth and very productive process."[Blogcritics, 16 Dec 2011]

Sarah Smart (Jennifer, The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People) talks about being broody after meeting Billie Piper (Fast Freddie, The Widow and Me co-star Laurence Fox's wife), and also on her time in Doctor Who: "We will of course be watching the Doctor Who Christmas special, but I will see it in a completely different light now I’ve been in it. Matt Smith is absolutely brilliant, but my favourite Doctor will always be Peter Davison, because he was my dad in At Home With The Braithwaites."[Sunday Mercury, 18 Dec 2011]

Robin Squire ("main Auton", Spearhead from Space) has written a new 'reality novel' entitled The Making of Britflick and is described as all about the vicissitudes of being a writer on a feature film that manages to get made despite all the odds. It is currently available as an e-book from Amazon, with a hardcopy available next spring. [with thanks to Richard Bignell, 17 Dec 2011]

Meanwhile, the announcement by Steven Moffat that Amy and Rory would be departing has set the bookies off on their predictions of who might assume the vacancy in the TARDIS, though predictably lacking the imagination to consider a male as the Doctor's next sidekick.

Downton Abbey's Jessica Brown Findlay is considered the favourite by Ladbrokes at 4/1, with The Curse of the Black Spot's Lily Cole at 6/1, Matt Smith's close friend Daisy Lowe at 10/1, and Strictly Come Dancing runner up Chelsee Healey at 12/1.